Training Needs Assessment

Informing a Fisheries Stock Assessment Curriculum for Somalia

Masumbuko Semba

NM-AIST

George Rushingisha

TAFIRI

2025-12-14

Outline

  • Introduction: Why this assessment was needed.
  • Participant Profile: Who was assessed?
  • Self-Assessed Knowledge: What are the current capacity gaps?
  • Training Priorities: What do participants see as most essential?
  • Proposed Curriculum: How the results shape the training modules.

Introduction

Purpose

  • Goal: To design an effective stock assessment training program for Somali fisheries professionals.
  • Objective: Identify current knowledge gaps and specific training priorities through a targeted needs assessment.
  • Rationale: This data-driven approach ensures the curriculum is relevant, practical, and directly addresses the needs of the participants.

Our Approach

  • A structured questionnaire was developed to capture participant backgrounds and self-assessed skill levels.
  • The questionnaire was distributed for completion.
  • The collected data was downloaded and analyzed to identify capacity gaps and training priorities.

Our Approach ….

Submitted forms

  • Twelve completed questionnaires.
  • One incomplete form and was excluded from the analysis.
  • The analysis is based on eleven complete responses.

Participant Profile

Who are we training?

Education & Expertise

  • Most participants hold Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees.
  • Primary fields of expertise are in Fisheries Biology and Marine Science.

Who are we training?

Institutional Affiliation

  • Participants are drawn from both Federal and State-level ministries.
  • Representation from key coastal states ensures broad geographic reach.

Self-Assessed Knowledge

Where are the current capacity gaps?

Fundamental of Stock Assessment

Data Collection & Analysis

Modeling for Data-Poor Contexts

Training Priorities

Training Priorities?

What is the most essential training component identified by participants?

  • Fundamental concepts
  • Data collection protocols
  • Data-limited stock assessment methods

Fish Stocks Priorities?

What is the most essential fish stock which need immediate capacity building on assessment techniques?

  • Tuna and tuna-like species
  • Sharks and rays
  • Demersal fish (e.g., groupers, emperors)

Formulating the Training Modules

Directly informed by the Training Needs Assessment

Proposed Training Module

Proposed Training Curriculum
Directly informed by the Training Needs Assessment
Module Rationale Key Content
Module 1: Fundamentals & Concepts Reinforce core knowledge, as many participants rate themselves as 'Basic' or 'Moderate'. Stock assessment principles, data types, and their application.
Module 2: Data Collection Protocols A high-priority area. Address gaps in sampling design, quality control, and catch/effort data handling. Practical exercises on designing sampling schemes and ensuring data quality.
Module 3: Data-Limited Methods The most requested component and the area with the lowest self-assessed expertise (modeling). Focus on length-based models, empirical methods, and practical application using R.

Thank You

For questions or further information, please contact

  • George Rushingisha (george.rushingisha@tafiri.go.tz)
  • Masumbuko Semba (masumbuko.semba@nm-aist.ac.tz)


Asante sana!